A cricket side’s score is the result of the various runs each individual batter has scored and the extras conceded by the fielding side. There are three official formats in cricket in which batters can score runs: Test match (played across 5 days), One Day Internationals (50 overs per side), and T20s (20 overs per side).
In test cricket, both teams can bat twice in alternate fashion. Four scenarios can exist:
– One innings can last for all five days if the batters stick to the crease (nearly impossible)
– Both teams can get only one chance each for batting (possible but rare)
– One team bats twice but the other bats once (common)
– Both teams get two innings each to bat (common)
In these five days, a single batter can score as many runs as possible. In cricket history, West Indies batsman Brian Lara holds the record for the highest individual score in a single innings: 400*. He is the only player to reach the 400 mark. Triple centuries (a score of 300) have been witnessed relatively seldom. Double centuries (200) are more common than triple centuries, while centuries (100) are the most common. In women’s cricket Kiran Baluch of Pakistan holds the record for the highest individual score in test cricket: 242.
In ODIs, a single team can bat once for 50 overs (300 legal balls). Based on this, it is difficult to imagine a single batter scoring over 200 runs. But such instances have taken place more than once. India’s Rohit Sharma holds the record for the highest individual score in ODIs: 264. In women’s cricket, Amelia Kerr (232*) holds this record.
In T20 Internationals, a single team can bat once for 20 overs, which is 120 legal balls. Aaron Finch and Alyssa Heally of Australia hold the record for the highest individual scores in T20 Internationals (among test-playing nations). Finch holds the record for his 175* whereas Heally notched up 148*.
